Shadows
by BlackStarWolf
Summary: Clark must battle the shadows of himself.
1. Prologue: The Explosion

**Prologue: The Explosion **

Clark was running. Not from something, but instead toward something. He supersped down the dimly lit hallway. When he came to a door at the end of the hallway, he used his superstrength to break it down.

He flung the startled guard against the wall. He grabbed the girl on the table and sunk to his knees holding her close. He was crying.

"God, I'm so sorry. Please don't be dead. Please." He whispered. She looked up at him and spoke softly.

"Clark, I know your secret." Clark wasn't surprised. Nothing about her ever surprised him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"I can't believe you lied to me. I hate you Clark! I hate you!" she was screaming now. She got up and he stood looking at her. "I don't know how I ever loved you!" She stabbed him with the Kryptonian knife she had been holding behind her.

The last thing Clark saw as he slipped into the dark abyss was Lois Lane holding the knife drenched in his blood, laughing.

Clark woke with a start. He just had a very strange nightmare. Clark shook his head. _'Did I just dream that Lois told me that she loved me? Then killed me?' _He grabbed his cell phone and called Lois.

Lois Lane woke to the ringing of her cell phone. She looked at the clock. It was 3 o'clock in the morning. She flipped open her phone and spoke.

"Who the hell is it?"

"Lois, it's Clark." _'Clark. Why is he calling this early?'_ she thought to herself.

"Wait, is Chloe ok?" Lois asked quickly.

"Yah, she's fine. I just had the urge to make sure you were fine."

"At three in the morning? Can we talk later? I'm driving down there today."

"Sure."

"Good night, Smallville." Lois closed her phone and got up. She wasn't going to get anymore sleep, tonight. Clark had that affect on her. She couldn't seem to get him out of her head lately. She sighed. She got a mug of coffee and sat down. It was going to be a long morning.

Lex Luthor had just gotten a special package. They had discovered a third type of meteorite. Now he had green, red and yellow. He put them all in a special safe. He was having them delivered to a specialist later today to have the differences between all three studied.

"Mr. Luthor, sir. The truck to transport the meteors will be here in an hour." One of Lex's employees informed him.

"Good, I want these meteors examined as soon as possible." Lex went back into his mansion to get more information on his latest project.

Clark was looking out his loft window when he saw Lois drive up. He hadn't gotten any sleep since he had called her four hours ago. He walked over to his couch and sat down pretending to be reading a novel. He didn't acknowledge her when she came up the steps.

"Is the book any good?" Lois asked.

"Oh, Lois. I didn't see you there." Clark said as he looked up. Lois walked toward him. She stopped in front of him and turned the book he held right side up. Clark blushed.

"So, what's up? You called and woke me at three this morning, Smallville." Lois told him irritably.

"I don't know. I just had a sudden impulse to make sure you were fine. That's all. Sorry if I woke you." Clark answered.

Lois glared at him so he quickly added "How about I buy you a coffee?"

"Fine. Let's go." She walked over to her car. Clark followed her sighing in relief. The truth was that she occupied his mind a lot lately. He couldn't seem stop thinking about her. About how beautiful she looked when she smiled. _'Wait a minute, did I just call Lois beautiful?' _

"Earth to Smallville." Lois waved her hand in front of Clark. He was just standing next to her car. Clark smiled, got in, and they drove off to the Talon.

"All the meteors are in place, sir." Lex walked over to the man.

"Are they all secured in different boxes?" Lex asked. The man nodded. "And the boxes are lined so that the radiation cannot contaminate the other meteors right?"

"Yes sir, and the boxes are lined with lead just like you ordered." The man was bored. He was being paid to ship rocks to the other side of town. It didn't help that he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

"Well, then start off. I want these Meteors in the in the hands of my specialists within the hour."

"Thanks for the coffee, Smallville." Lois said as they walked out of the Talon.

"Well I was afraid you were going to kill me." Clark told her truthfully.

"Nah, you're too much fun to harass. But if you call me that early in the morning again then I swear I will kill you." She promised with a grin.

They drove off heading back to the farm. On the way there Clark and Lois started to argue.

"Smallville, you really have to start wearing something other than plaid. If you don't then the world will be in very short supply." Lois began.

"Lois I really don't see why- Look out!" Clark yelled as the truck in the opposite lane came barreling toward them.

Lois managed to swerve in time, avoiding a collision. The truck however swerved and rolled over. Lois came to a sudden halt. They both unbuckled their seatbelts and got out. The truck set on fire and looking at it Clark realized they had about thirty seconds before it exploded.

"Lois run!" Clark yelled as he ran toward the truck. He used his superstrength to rip off the door of the car. He then grabbed the man and began to run from the vehicle. He didn't make it.

The truck exploded, with it the three types of Kryptonite that were held in the back. Clark was within 10 feet of the kryptonite when the explosion happened. Realizing what was going to happen, he threw the man to safety. The explosion engulfed him in flames and Kryptonite.

Lois looked to where Clark had been standing. There had been a flash of light and now there was tons of smoke. She grabbed her purse and began digging for her cell phone. She missed someone superspeeding away from the spot she had been looking moments ago.

After calling 911 she ran over to where Clark was lying. The smoke had cleared. She leaned over him surprised that there wasn't a scratch on him.

"If you're dead Smallville, I'm going to kick your but." She said quietly, voice heavy with concern.

"Lois?" Clark's eyes fluttered open. "What happened?"

End of Prologue


	2. Chapter 1: The Furnace

Chapter 1: The Furnace 

"I still think you should have gone to the hospital." Lois said irritably.

"Lois the paramedic checked me out. There's nothing wrong with me." Clark told her for the tenth time.

"I would feel better if you got checked out by a doctor." She muttered.

"What's this. Lois Lane actually cares. Could she be falling for a farmboy from Smallville? Who would have guessed?" Clark teased her.

"Yah right, like that would ever happen. Don't you wish, Smallville." Lois retorted.

Suddenly Clark felt a pang of sadness. _'Wait a minute, why do I care? I don't like Lois more than a friend. Do I?'_ Clark mentally slapped himself. _'Don't even start to think that. Lois is loud, rude, bossy, annoying, and always has to have the last word. But she's also smart, beautiful, and she cares.' _He sighed. It was going to be a long day if he was already arguing with himself at 8:00 in the morning.

Lois was watching Clark as he had a mental discussion with himself._ 'I wonder what he's thinking about. He's been quiet for almost ten minutes.' _"Hey Clarkie, wanna share what you're thinking about?" she asked him, bringing him back to reality.

"Oh,…. Uh, it's nothing important." Clark said nervously. Lois glared at him, seeming to try and find out what he was hiding.

"Ok," she shrugged. "If you wanna talk I'm here for you." Lois told him honestly.

"Thanks, Lois." They got into the car and drove back to the farm.

It was late in the afternoon. Clark was in his loft and Lois was helping Martha at the Talon when Chloe came by.

"Hey, Clark. What's up?" Chloe asked as she walked into the loft.

"Oh hi, Chloe." Clark looked up to see her staring at him. He realized that he had had his head in his hands. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"Oh and would this something happen to be loud, bossy, and visiting Smallville?" Chloe looked at him intently.

"Who Lois? No why would I be thinking about Lois?" Clark asked nervously. When Chloe just stared at him he realized it was no use. "Yah, I don't know. She's loud, rude, and as you said, bossy. Yet somehow I can't get her out of my head. But you didn't come all this way to talk about Lois, So why are you here?"

Chloe took a deep breath. "Clark I know about your powers. Remember that night when Alicia called you and told you that the car was out of control? Well she transported us out of there just before you got there. Then when you lost your memory I found out about all your other powers."

Clark looked stunned. "You weren't mad or upset? You didn't think 'Oh, he another meter freak. Better be careful he might go psycho just like the others'?"

"Clark, you're my best friend. That's not going to change, whether or not you can bench press a tractor." Chloe was hurt. Clark was her best friend and nothing was going to change that.

"Sorry Chloe, its just that,…..well I told Pete and the real reason he had to move was because he was tortured for information about my secret."

"Wow, I would have never guessed. No wonder you didn't tell me or anyone else. But why are people so interested in you, I mean tons of people were affected by the meteors."

"Uh,… see the thing is I wasn't affected by the meteors. I'm an alien." Clark paused for a moment letting that sink in. When Chloe wasn't phased by that knowledge he continued. "The meteors are pieces of my home planet. They're the only things that can hurt me."

"So what planet do you come from?" Chloe asked it as if were nothing unusual.

"I came from a planet that used to be called Krypton." Clark told her with a note of sadness.

"Wait, you said used to be. Why the past tense?" The young journalist inquired.

"The planet was destroyed for some reason. That's why I was sent here. I'm the last son of krypton. As if that weren't tough enough my father keeps telling me that the time to fulfil my destiny is coming." Clark turned away for a moment. "Chloe do you think I'm capable of becoming evil?" He asked quietly.

"Of course not! Why would you think you would turn evil?" Chloe was clearly upset.

"A message from my father said 'They are a flawed race. Rule them with strength.'" Clark said depressed.

"Clark it's you who decides your own destiny." Chloe told him compassionately.

"Thanks Chloe, its good to know one of my friends has my back again." Clark smiled at her, then went over and embraced her.

"Lois, thanks for helping me out here." Martha said. "The lunch crowd was brutal, huh?"

"Yah well, it's the least I can do. Thanks for offering to let me stay with you guys for a couple days." Lois told the older woman.

"So Lois, how's Met U? Meet any nice guys?" Martha asked trying to sound off hand. She knew that Lois and Clark really liked each other deep down. Even if they didn't know it yet.

"No, but then again I probably scare most of guys with my nail hard reputation." She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever meet the right guy. Then other times I tell myself I shouldn't fall in love because I've gotta take care of myself." Lois sounded like she was broken.

"Oh sweetie, there's somebody out there for everyone. And don't be afraid to fall in love, nobody can take care of themselves all the time."

Martha knew that if Lois didn't confide in anybody, someday it would become too for her to bear and she would break down. Martha also knew that she was not the one Lois would confide in. Lois might open up to her once in a while but Lois really needed someone who would always be there. Somebody who would always love her unconditionally.

"Thanks, Mrs. Kent. That helped." Lois looked as if she were trying not to cry. She went back to helping clean up.

"I'll always be here if you need to talk. And dear," Lois looked up at Mrs. Kent, "Call me Martha." Lois smiled and laughed.

"Okay, Martha."

Above Martha and Lois, Lana and Jason were arguing at that very moment. "Jason, I can't believe you!" Lana yelled in anger and frustration.

"What Lana? What have I done to make you mad now?" Jason asked clearly annoyed.

"You lied to me! You told me that you were done with the stones! I just found out that your mother and you have using me to get the stones!"

"Lana, if you would stop and think for a moment. With these stones come all the knowledge in the world. Don't tell me that that doesn't sound tempting."

"Not if it meant using those I care about." Lana told him truthfully.

"Lana, please-"

"No Jason, we're through. I expect all of you're stuff gone by the time I get back." With that she walked out the door.

"Mr. Luthor, sir. There's a slight complication." An employee informed him.

"And that is?" a cold voice asked.

"The truck driver had an accident. The truck caught fire and exploded. The meteorites were destroyed in the explosion."

"Where was the driver when the truck exploded?"

"He was thrown to safety by a young man by the name of Clark Kent. The boy was caught in the explosion. The odd thing is that he had not a scratch on him from it."

The billionaire stopped to think for a moment. He turned toward the window, glaring at the darkened city below. "I want you to follow Mr. Kent at all times. Do not, I repeat do not, let him out of your sight. Got it?"

"Yes sir." The man left Lionel Luthor to brood over the events that had happened earlier in the day.

Clark was surprised to hear that the school would be closed for the week. _'It's the middle of April. I wonder why the boiler blew up. Hmm, maybe Chloe's digging into it.'_ He walked into the kitchen to see Lois drinking her morning coffee.

"Hey Smallville, what's going on? Shouldn't you be at school?" Lois asked.

"The school is closed for the week. The boiler blew up. Nobody knows why. I was going over to Chloe's to see if she knows anything." Clark paused. Should he ask her to come?

"Alright I'm coming too." She told him before he could decide. _'Oh well, I guess I don't have to worry about asking her to come.'_

"Fine, let's go. I'm driving though. Whenever you drive something always happens."

"Oh, really?"

"First when you found me, then you almost killed Shelby, plus yesterday with the explosion. Need I go on?" Clark had a smirk as Lois scowled at him.

Lois handed him her keys. "Shut up and drive, farmboy."

"Hey Chloe."

Chloe turned around to find Lana greeting her. "Oh hey." Lana motioned for Chloe to join her so she did. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. I broke up with Jason, I'm trying to finish my essay that was due today, and I'm trying to figure out some way to get this tattoo off my back so that evil witch can't posses me anymore. So what's new with you?"

"Whoa, hold on there. First off you broke it off with Jason?" Chloe was a little confused. Lana had been rambling only moments before.

"Yah, well he and his mother were using me to get the stones." Lana said calmly.

"Well, I guess that's that then?" Chloe asked cautiously.

"Yah I don't think I'm going to keep dating somebody who just uses me."

"Good you deserve a guy who truly loves you." And under her breath Chloe muttered, "And who doesn't have a hidden agenda."

"The tattoo has got to go. I don't want Isabel making anymore visits."

"I agree there. I'll call my contacts and see what we can come up with."

"Thanks, Chloe." Lana rose. "I got to go. I've got a meeting with some 'witches'. See ya later."

20 minutes later Clark and Lois walked into the Talon. They spotted Chloe and sat down with her. "Here you are. We went to your house and you weren't there."

"Well duh, Lois. If she's her she's obviously not going to be at her house." Clark said with a just a touch of sarcasm.

"Will you two stop bickering long enough to tell me why you've been looking for me?"

"Sorry cuz. We came by to see if you knew anything about the boiler exploding."

Chloe thought that her cousin could be a top-notch reporter one day-if she was interested. "Yah, well you came to the right person. I bribed some people and found out that the Boiler blew because it over-heated."

Clark sighed in relief. _'Now I don't have to track down another meteor freak.' _"However," Clark's heart stopped for a second. _'Oh crap. She 's continuing.'_ He inwardly groaned.

Chloe went on, "There were two holes in the furnace."

"So somebody probably cut some holes to get to the boiler." Lois said indifferently.

Chloe shook her head at her cousin. The she looked at Clark as she spoke. " No. The holes were parallel, made at the same time, and were melted. Whatever melted the holes also blew up the furnace."


	3. Chapter 2: Realizations

Chapter 2: Realizations 

"Son." Lex looked up. He saw his father walking through the doorway.

"Ah, Dad. To what do I owe this visit?" Lex wasn't pleased to see his father. He had yet to find another yellow meteor. They were proving very difficult to acquire.

"Nothing. I just wanted to stop by."

"Oh, Dad. Any news on the stones?"

"No why? I thought you might have given up your foolish quest. The stones will never be yours."

"Who has the stone of water?" Lex pulled out a gun. "I suggest you tell the truth."

Lionel Luther stared at his son; it was obvious how desperate he was for power. He knew that if he wished to get out alive that the younger Luthor must not discover that the stone that he seeked was hidden right before him.

"Clark, are you sure that you had nothing to do with it?" Jonathon asked.

"Yah Dad, I'm sure." He was tired of this conversation. They were running over all the possibilities. His brain wasn't working at top notch because it was late. Lois had already gone to bed.

"Wait a minute." They all looked at Chloe. "What if you did it while you were sleep walking or something?"

"Why would I blow the school boiler?"

"Maybe because your subconscious knows how you really feel about Lois." Clark snorted. "No just listen, your subconscious also knows that she's only here for a week. So you got rid of the major thing standing in the way of your spending time with Lois, school."

Clark couldn't contain it any longer, he began to laugh. He stopped abruptly when he realized that she was serious. Truth be told Chloe's theory wasn't that far-fetched. He was beginning to realize that he was feeling something for her. There was stil a problem with the theory though.

"I couldn't have done it."

Chloe was agitated. "Why, because you're in love with Lana? Is it too hard to imagine that you could have feelings for someone else?"

"No Chlo, I haven't been in love with Lana for a long time. The more I think about it, I don't think I was ever in love with her. No, I can't have been me because I was up all last night trying to figure out how I feel about Lois." As Clark sighed Chloe immediately felt terrible. She jumped to conclusions and snapped at Clark. "I still don't know how I feel about her."

Martha stroked Clark's hair as he sat down and put his face in his hands. "Oh, sweetie, it's okay. You'll figure things out soon. I can feel it."

"Thanks, Mom." He looked at the people in the room. "If Pete were here then the 'family' would be complete." At Chloe's puzzled look he explained. "Everyone who knows my secret is part of the 'family'."

"I'm sure Pete is fine, wherever he is." Jonathan said as the door opened.

"Which is at the Kent farm." Said a familiar voice.

Lana was sitting, reading at the Talon. She was trying to figure out how to get this damned tattoo off her back. She sighed and got up to get another latte. On her way back she ran into Jason. "Go away Jason. I told you that I didn't want to talk to you."

"Lana, listen to me-"

"No Jason I don't care anymore. The only thing I want to talk to you about is how to get this damned tattoo off."

Jason was surprised. "You still have the tattoo? Once the spell book was destroyed the tattoo should have disappeared. Unless……"

"Unless what Jason?" Her voice was cold and harsh.

"Unless you have something else Isabel had. The only thing I can think of is the stone of power that she possessed." He paused. Then it dawned on him. "What stone do you have?" He asked her franticly.

"Go away Jason. I don't care anymore." She began to walk away.

"Why? Because you still love Clark?" Lana stopped walking. She turned.

"What did you just say?" It was clear that she very pissed.

"I said that you're still in love with Clark Kent. You always were. You've just been too preoccupied with me to realize it." With that he walked out of the Talon and her life.

Lana went back to her seat knowing that she would never see Jason again. She knew what he said was true. The question was: what was she going to do about it.

"Genevieve Teague."

"What did you say?" Lex asked him.

"She has the stone. She took it after I obtained it after the whole jail incident." Lionel Luthor told his son convincingly.

Lex pondered whether his father was telling the truth or not. He decided to believe him, for now. "Alright, Father, I believe you." Lionel sighed in relief. Then there was a shot and pain. Lionel blacked out.

Lex called in one of his guards. "Get rid of this trash." What Lex didn't know was that Lionel had the stone he wanted and something else.

It was the next day. Lois decided that it was time. She asked Martha where Clark was and after getting her answer she headed toward the Talon. When she got there she spotted Clark and went to him.

"Clark we need to talk." He turned toward her and smiled.

"Lois." He took her hand and led her outside. "Listen I need to tell you something important." She was shocked that he had led her out of the Talon.

"Yah, I need to tell you something too. Listen I don't let people get close to me for fear of getting hurt. Clark I'm couldn't not get close to you. I love you."

"Good because I love you too."

Lois leaned in to kiss Clark but he stopped her. "No Lois, we need to tell Chloe." She agreed with him although all she wanted to do was kiss him.

They headed back inside and spotted Chloe. "Chlo, we need to tell you something." Lois began but was interrupted by Chloe.

"You and Clark are dating aren't you?" She was crying. "I can't believe that you would betray me like this!" With that she ran off.

"She'll come around eventually. Now where were we outside?" Clark leaned in to kiss Lois. Suddenly Lana came over.

"Clark I love you." Clark suddenly let go of Lois and went to Lana and kissed her.

"Clark, what the hell?" Lois said trying not to cry.

"What Lois? You thought I actually loved you?" Clark began to laugh. "I only love Lana." Lois couldn't stand it any longer.

She ran. On her way she bumped into Mrs. Kent. "Lois we want you to leave immediately."

Lois continued to run. She once again ran into someone. This time it was Mr. Kent. "Lois we want you to never come back we don't care about you."

Lois continued one last time to run finally bumping into Chloe. "I'm disowning you. You knew how I felt about Clark, yet you still went after him."

Suddenly the four people she cared about, probably the only four people she cared about, surrounded her. They kept repeating what they had said. Lois broke down.

Lois sat up screaming, "No!"

Clark, Chloe, Pete and Clark's parents had been catching up when they heard Lois scream. Clark supersped up to his room. _'No. I can't let anything happen to her.' _When he reached his room, he quickly opened the door.

He and Lois caught each other in a hug. Neither ever wanting to let go. She cried on her chest while he comforted her. In that moment they realized that they were in love. _'I'll tell her tomorrow.' 'I'll tell him tomorrow.' _

The other ran up to see Clark and Lois in an embrace, all knowing what it meant.

"She's asleep." Clark told the others as he came downstairs. He had held her until she calmed down and then she had fallen asleep. He had then laid Lois on his bed tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead.

"What happened?" Martha asked concerned.

"She had a nightmare. It must have been pretty intense. She kept asking not to be sent away, not to be disowned, not to be betrayed. I think everyone she cares about hurt her in her nightmare."

Chloe nodded. "It makes sense. Her worst fear is that everyone she cares about will betray, abandon, or get rid of her."

"Clark," Pete said changing the subject. "Why didn't you say hi when I called out to you earlier this evening?"

"What are you talking about? I've been at home since 3 in the afternoon." Clark said puzzled.

"Oh, I thought I saw you in town earlier." He shrugged it off. "Must have been someone else."

"Hmm…. Chloe in the morning, could you find out what the truck was carrying yesterday?"

Chloe looked up from playing with Shelby. "Which truck are you talking about?"

"The one that caused the explosion."

"Ok. Will do."

Jonathon broke in. "It's really late why don't you two stay the night?"

The two nodded. It was then that Clark heard a call for help. It wasn't that far off. He told his parents then supersped toward the cry for help.

Lionel knew he was going to die as soon as he awakened. He called for help. To his surprise Clark Kent appeared in front of him. It was then he realized that Clark was the one chosen for the stones.

"Clark, I'm going to die. There isn't anything you can do. But I have a stone of power. I know that they were meant for you. I also have the key. And a recording of what happened to me. Take then. You need them." Lionel handed Clark the stuff then he died. He would never know that his final acts proved that he really had changed in prison. Clark knew that if there was indeed a heaven that was where Lionel was going.

Clark took the items home then called the police.


	4. Chapter 3: The Meeting

Chapter 3: Meeting 

Lex was quite angry. The police had already found his father's body. There were rumors of somebody witnessing his death. His father's tale of who had the stone was a dead end. Lex shrugged. He did not care that the dead end had cost two lives, three if you included his father.

It was vital though to find the person who had found his father. Lex had been informed that his father had had a recorder on. Whoever found the body had evidence.

Lex was determined to find this person. No matter what the cost.

When she woke up, Lois knew that she had to have three talks today. She sighed. None of them were going to be easy. She got dressed and went downstairs to find that Chloe had slept on the couch, and Clark was on the floor along with somebody she couldn't recognize.

She went into the kitchen to find Martha and Jonathon already up. _'Well here goes talk numero uno.' _"Hey Martha, Mr. Kent."

"Jonathon." He told her absently.

"Good morning dear. How are you?"

Lois shrugged. "Better I guess. Listen I need to talk to you about something. Actually two things."

Both of the adults sat down at the table and motioned for Lois to join them. When she did Martha started. "So sweetie what do you need to discus with us?"

"I just need to know that I'm not a burden. And that I can come back to visit."

"Lois, if you want to visit we'd be glad to have you. And you're not a burden. What's this about?" Jonathon asked her.

Martha caught on as soon Lois didn't reply. "Oh, honey, we would never ask you to leave, it was just a nightmare."

"Alright. I guess I'm just shaken. The nightmare was really intense. I still need to talk to Chloe and Clark."

"Let me guess the other thing you wanted to talk to us about was Clark?" At Lois' questioning glance Martha continued. "We saw you too hugging last night after your nightmare."

"Yah," Lois stole a glance at the sleeping form of the man who she loved. "I think I love him."

Martha saw the way Lois looked at her son and agreed. Jonathon interrupted her thoughts. "We don't mind you too kissing or dating but there are rules in this house."

At that Lois blushed. "Oh, no. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with what might happen between us."

"We couldn't be happier." Martha told her truthfully.

"Neither could I." Lois turned to see Chloe smiling at her. Lois was relieved; that only left talking to the farmboy himself.

The billionaire looked around he had had his butler drop him off here. This was where his friend was. He went to the door and knocked. He was answered by a kindly woman. "Yes?" Martha asked.

"Yes. I'm looking for my friend. She is staying here."

"Could you be more specific there are three people staying here at the moment."

"Yes, she is related to a general."

"Chloe or Lois?"

"Wait you have two young women related to general."

"One's the daughter, the other is the niece."

"Well yes, I'm looking for his daughter, Lois."

Martha invited him inside and went to get Lois. The man noticed a young man sleeping on the floor. Just as he noticed Clark, Clark woke up. Clark got up and noticed the visitor. He yawned then stuck out his hand. "Clark Kent."

The man shook his hand and before he could speak Lois ran down toward him. "Bruce!" She ran toward him and hugged him.

Clark raised his eyebrows. Lois wasn't one for public affection. Lois noticed his reaction and stepped back to properly introduce Bruce. "Clark this is one of my oldest friends, Bruce Wayne."

Lana was driving. She turned on the radio to calm her. Maroon 5's She Will Be Loved began to play. She had decided to talk to Clark. He probably felt the same way as she did. No he did. Lana was sure of it.

Realizing what she was listening to she thought that the song described their relationship perfectly. She chuckled. What were the odds that it would play when she needed it most?

Continuing to chuckle she kept driving to the Kent farm, believing that she and Clark would soon be together.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne." Clark said truthfully.

Bruce winced. "Clark, please call me Bruce. I only like to be called Mr. Wayne when I'm doing business."

"Ok, Bruce. What brings you to Smallville? I somehow doubt that a billionaire from Gotham would be interested in corn."

Bruce began to laugh. "Yes, you're right I came to see Lois. We haven't seen each other in over a year. I keep telling her to come to Gotham but she seems much more interested in a town called Smallville."

"Well, it's a much shorter trip, and I did almost lose my cousin a couple months ago." Lois told him as she came back with two mugs of steaming coffee. She gave one to Clark and the other to Bruce. They both raised their eyebrows.

"Lois, what's up?" Clark asked slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you just handed us coffee without any for yourself." Bruce told her.

"What, can I not do a nice act without an ulterior motive?"

At the same time both Clark and Bruce responded. "No." they looked at each other and laughed. They both knew the same Lois Lane.

Lois sighed. "I just want two of my best friends to get along."

Clark was surprised. "Since when have I been one of your best friends? I didn't get the memo. Now the question is do I run for the hills?" Bruce sprayed the coffee he had begun to drink, and began to laugh uncontrollably.

Lois gave Clark a death stare and spoke. "Smallville, you are going to regret saying that." She turned to Bruce. "And you are going to get it worse, buddy, for laughing."

Clark gave Lois a puppy dog pout. "Won't you go easy on your two of your best friends?" Lois smiled and slapped his arm.

Chloe was researching what the truck had been carrying. She had already found out that it was hired by Luthor Corp. Now she had found out that it was being hired to carry the cargo to a research facility. She was about to call Lex when someone covered her eyes. "Bart, what are you doing here?"

Her eyes were released and she gazed upon her boyfriend. "I dunno I thought I would stop by and see my favorite girl."

"Me?"

"Nope, Lois." Chloe swatted him and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Well if you want to pursue Lois not only will you have to go through me, you'd have to go through Clark too."

"Really?" Chloe smiled at his surprise. "They couldn't stand each other last time I was here."

"I really don't know. I always knew that they would get together. But the way they fought, it was like they were never going to notice. I had a bet going with Mrs. Kent. She had said a month, I said three."

"So who won?"

"Neither of us. The bet was five months ago." Bart began to laugh. After a couple minutes he was silenced by Chloe.

"Ow! Only Clark is made of steel!" Chloe just laughed and turned to continue her search.

Clark had gone to do his chores, leaving Bruce alone with Lois. Clark was jealous of how comfortable Lois was with Bruce. '_I wish she could comfortable like that with me.'_ He sighed. He still needed to talk to Lois about his feelings for her.

Just as another wave of jealousy hit him his throat felt cold. As he breathed out the cows he had been facing all fell over. _'Oh great, another power. Just what I need. But what activated it?' _He helped the cows up and continued hoping he wouldn't get another blast of 'superbreath'.

Again his thoughts turned to Bruce and Lois. "I bet he doesn't have to deal with having to save people." He muttered. Once again he felt jealousy overcome him. His throat felt icy cold this time. He turned toward the crops and exhaled the crops not only fell to the side they froze that way.

Clark realized that the power was activated by jealousy. After about half and hour he had mastered a new power. He was glad though that he hadn't frozen the cows when he first had the power activate.

He went in for lunch to fin that Bruce and Lois had gone into town to catch up. He really liked Bruce; it was just that she was so comfortable around him. Clark quickly finished his chores at superspeed and went to his loft to wait for Lois.

Lois was having fun with Bruce, but she really wanted to get back and tell Clark how she felt. As a result she was drifting in and out of the conversation. "Lois, Lois, LOIS!"

She jerked back to Bruce. "Sorry what were you saying?"

"Are you okay? You look a bit preoccupied."

"Yah, just a little tired." Bruce doubted that but let it go.

"So I was wondering…..."

"Yah?"

"Do you want to have dinner tomorrow night?"

Lois was surprised and disappointed. Had he asked last week she would have gladly accepted, but she was love with Clark. "I'm sorry Bruce, I can't. I'm in love with somebody already."

"Clark right?"

"My god! How does everyone do that? Before, nobody would believe that Clark and I had nothing going on. What do we, give off vibes saying: madly in love, or something?"

"And now?"

Lois looked away. "Yah, I fell in love with him over the past couple of visits. But I don't know how he feels about me. I haven't told him yet."

"Why? Lois lane isn't one to back down."

"I realized that I loved him last night." Bruce rolled his eyes. Typical Lois, running away from her feelings until the exploded in her face.

"Let me guess, you had the nightmare?"

She shook her head. "No I had a nightmare but it was different this time."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lois smiled.

"No, I've already confronted three out of four people that hurt me in the nightmare. They all love me so I know that it was just a nightmare."

"Wanna head back to talk to Clark?" Bruce was jealous of Clark. He got Lois and he didn't have to have to deal with the responsibility. He inwardly sighed. It just showed that life was not fair at all.

"If you don't mind."

"Of course not. We'll always be friends. I just want you to be happy."

"Thanks, Bruce."

Clark was watching the sunset when he heard footsteps on the stairs. His first thought was that it was Lois but as he continued listen found his wishing to be false. "Clark, are you up here?" Lana asked.

"Over here." Clark tried not to sound too depressed.

"Listen Clark I need to tell you something."

"Hmm."

"I love you." Clark sighed. He had seen this coming. He decided to try to lay it on her easy.

He got up walked to the railing. "Lana, I-"

"He was cut off by Lana kissing him. He felt nothing as she kissed him. It was then that he knew that he had never truly been in love with Lana. He carefully broke the kiss.

Lana was confused. One minute she had been kissing Clark, the man she loved, the next she was kissing air.

Clark knew that he would have to break it to her hard. "Lana, remember when we were talking in the caves a couple of months ago?"

"Yah." She was still confused.

Clark sighed. He would just tell her. "I don't love you Lana."

At his comment she realized which conversation he was referring to. "I'm in love with Lois."

"Oh, I see. Maybe I should just go." She left for the Talon when Clark made no move to stop her.

Lois got out the car, said goodbye to Bruce promising to stay in touch, and ran to the loft. She saw Clark talking to Lana and then she began to run. Lois had seen Clark and Lana kiss. As in her dream she bumped into Martha, but this time the woman pulled Lois to her. "Lois Honey what's wrong?"

"Clark he- he- he-" She didn't get to finish before the tears came. She landed on the floor kneeling. Martha decided to call Chloe and before she hung up Bart had brought Chloe over.

Chloe helped her cousin up and led her to the couch. She decided to ask Lois why she was crying after she had stopped. Lois cried herself to sleep. It was an unanimous decision to leave her there.

Martha called Clark in after Lois was asleep. It was past dinner time. Chloe went up to Clark when he entered and bombarded him. "What did you do Clark? I thought you loved her!"

"I do. What happened?" Clark was concerned.

"She came in saying 'Clark he-'. Then began to sob uncontrollably." Martha told him.

"I haven't talked to her all day. What could she- wait a minute. Mom what direction did she run from?"

"The barn, why?"

"Oh god no! She must have seen Lana kiss me." At everyone's looks he continued, "Lana came by and told me that she was still in love with me. I tried to tell her no but she ended up kissing me. I broke it off told her I was in love with Lois and she left."

Clark looked at Lois. "If only she hadn't run out she would have known the truth."

Pete had spent the last couple of hours talking to his dad. When he entered the Talon he heard someone crying. He turned to find that it was Lana. He sat with her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Who- Pete!" Lana said as she looked up. Her arms were around him in couple seconds. Pete was confused. One moment she was crying the next she was hugging him.

"Hey Lana. What's wrong?"

"I just spilled my heart out to Clark. He told me that he was in Love with someone else."

"Lois."

"How did you know?"

"I spent the night there last night."

"Oh."

Lana was very upset so Pete figured he would try to cheer her up. "Lana why don't we go see a movie or something. To get your mind off things."

"Alright."

Lois woke up at about ten. She saw had everyone had gone to sleep. She grabbed her cell phone and called Bruce. He was going to be in town for a week doing business here and there.

"Bruce, yah it's me Lois."

"No I was just wondering if we could have dinner tomorrow?"

"Good. I'll see you then." She hung up and tried to sleep. Instead tears began to fall. She cried all night without a wink of sleep.

Clark wasn't asleep. He was in his loft thinking about what had happened. _'Am I cursed or something?' _

"More than you think." Clark turned to find himself face to face with himself.

"How did you do that?" Clark asked.

"Oh, we have the same Minds. If you had tried you could have read my mind." _'Or talked to me telepathically.' _

"Why are you here?"

"Oh, well I wanted to spend some time with Lois."

"It was you who blew up the furnace."

Klarc gave him a death stare. "All I wanted to do was spend time with her. But between you, Bruce, and Chloe that's been impossible."

"What are you?"

"I'm the evil part of you." When Clark opened hi mouth to speak Klarc continued. "No not Kal, that's you without inhibitions. I'm you completely evil. I don't want what you want. I want to conquer. I want to rule. I want Lois. The only way I can get to her is through you so I'm going tot kill you."

As Klarc came close to Clark he faltered. He looked like he was being affected by Kryptonite. Clark looked in his pocket and retrieved to key Lionel had given him. It was glowing like Krpytonite did when Clark came I contact with it. Klarc Got out of range and supersped away.

Clark looked at the key thinking of the meeting that had just occurred and heard Klarc talking to him. _'This isn't over.'_

No this wasn't over by a long-shot.


	5. Chapter 4: Conspiracy

**Chapter 4: Conspiracy **

Clark stayed in his loft for the rest of the night. He called Chloe in the morning to see what she had uncovered. "Hey Chlo, what did you find?"

"I found that the truck was rented by Luthor Corp." At the mention of Luthor Corp. Clark remembered that Lionel had also given him the stone of water, and a recording of who murdered him in addition to the key. He looked at the floorboard that he had hidden them under. "Clark, are you there." Chloe's Voice intruded on his thoughts.

"Yah. What I need to know was if the truck contained Kryptonite."

"Huh?"

"Oh, the meteors are really Kryptonite."

"Oh, yah it did. How did you know?" Clark informed her of the previous night's meeting. "You mean that there's an evil part of you out there that cares about nothing but himself?"

"Yep. So was there red Kryptonite on the truck?"

"Hold on a sec." Clark could hear Chloe typing. "Yah. It had all three types of met- I mean Kryptonite."

"Wait a minute, there are THREE types of Kryptonite!"

"Yah they discovered a new type a couple days ago. It's yellow."

"Oh great, first the green makes me sick, the red makes me crazy, what does the yellow do? Kill me?"

Bruce woke up before dawn, after a good night's rest. He hadn't had a good night's rest for a while. _'Being a super hero has its bad points.' _It was when he was drinking his coffee that he remembered that Lois had asked him out to dinner the night before. He had some investigating to do. Lois had told him earlier that she was in love with Clark.

What had Clark done in the short hours since Bruce had left her to make Lois want to forget about him? The thought of him hurting Lois made Bruce's blood boil. It wasn't just the fact that Bruce had romantic feelings for Lois. He felt like her big brother.

He decided it was time to confront Clark about Lois. He began to dress in his usual suit but remembered that today he had no meetings. Bruce picked out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Bruce was at the Kent farm when he saw Klarc. "Clark we need talk."

Klarc turned and narrowed his eyes. "Well if isn't Bruce. Come to take my girl?"

"Whoa. Last time I talked to Lois she was pretty upset. I wanted to find out why."

Klarc walked over to Bruce. In a whisper he asked. "And what is Batman going to do if I don't talk to him?"

Lois stopped crying at the sunrise. She knew that she was only going out with Bruce to make Clark angry. _'Maybe it wasn't what it looked like.'_ She mentally kicked herself. _'No it was exactly what it looked like. This is why you shouldn't trust people with your heart.' _

Lois sighed. She was done crying. Although she felt a little better she knew it wouldn't help her with her problems. _'How could Clark do that to me?' _she felt the tears threatening to arise. _'Because he didn't know how I felt about him.' _A little voice inside Lois told her that she should talk to Clark. There was a chance that it wasn't what it looked like. Think of the way he held you two nights ago.

She finally agreed with the voice. _'I should at least talk to him.'_

Clark finished his conversation with Chloe and hung up. They both agreed that Clark shouldn't try to get close to the yellow Kryptonite. It was too dangerous. When they found another piece of it Bart would steal it and dip it in lead. Then they could recreate the explosion so that Klarc and Clark could recombine. It was too dangerous to have an evil person with all of those powers up and about

Clark decided that he had to talk to Lois. He had to explain what had happened. So he exited the barn to see Bruce being held up by Klarc. "Let him go!"

Bruce was surprised that Klarc had figured him out. "How did you figure out that I was Batman?"

Klarc grabbed Bruce by the collar and lifted him up. "It isn't that hard. And the way you looked at me I knew. The look said: 'I can't believe you get the girl and you don't have to save people'."

"How did you know that was the look said?" Bruce was even more surprised at Klarc's strength than the fact that he had figured out his secret.

"Let him go!" Bruce turned to see Clark. He looked back at Klarc. Klarc glared at him and put him down.

Klarc turned to Clark. "Like I said this isn't over. Can you protect all those that you care about? What if I went after Lana, Pete, Chloe, your parents? Who are you willing to sacrifice to keep her safe?"

"Leave everyone else out of this. The battle is between you and me!"

"But Clark, that wouldn't be fun. I like to play with these pitiful creatures. They're so amusing. But you're right. When the time comes and we battle you and I shall be the only ones involved. Until then though I think I'll mettle in their affairs."

"Why must you ruin their lives. Let us fight and get it over with."

"No. The time is not right. You have more powers than I. I believe in fighting fair. Don't you?" When he was replied with a grunt, Klarc continued. "As I said, this isn't over. And she will be mine. The question is what will you sacrifice for her safety?" With an evil laugh he supersped away.

Bruce was amazed. He turned to Clark. "What just happened?"

"Maybe I should explain the whole story. Come on." He led Bruce to his loft.

Before Clark could begin, Bruce interrupted. "As much as I want to hear your story I need to ask a couple questions. First what did the other you mean when he said 'and the way you looked at me I knew. The look said: 'I can't believe you get the girl and you don't have to save people''?"

"Well I knew that look because it was the same one I gave you yesterday."

"Oh." They burst out laughing. "I guess we're more alike then we first thought, huh?"

"Yah. Until I read his mind I didn't know you were Batman. But it makes sense."

"Wait you can read his mind?"

"Uh, maybe I should explain the whole story." So Clark began. "It all started with the meteor shower of 89'………."

Lois got out of the shower. She decided to talk to Clark after breakfast. So she went down to find Martha and Jonathon already eating. "Where's Clark?"

Martha looked up. "Probably doing his chores. Sweetheart, what happened last night?"

Lois sighed. She needed to go over it again, anyway. "I walked into the barn. I saw Clark and Lana talking. I decided to wait until she left. I was going to tell Clark how I felt about him." Tears were welling up in her eyes. She forced them back down. She had done enough crying last night. "Then they kissed. It's as simple as that."

Martha knew that Lois had heard what had been said. As much as it pained her Martha knew that if Lois could remember that Clark had been protesting, she would realize that Lana had been kissing Clark. Not the other way around.

"Sweetie, do remember anything else? Maybe it wasn't what it looked like."

Lois stopped to think. She would go over the conversation again later. "No, but I need to see Chloe. When Clark comes back in can you ell him to meet me at the Talon? I need to talk to him."

Martha nodded and Lois left, still trying to contain the tears that threatened to fall.

"Wow." Bruce had heard all about Clark's powers and his heritage. He looked at his watch it was already 2 in the afternoon. "Clark, do you mind if we get lunch?"

"No. Actually I'm hungry myself."

Bruce doubted that, with all Clark had told him, he would need to eat but let it go. "Oh, before we go in to eat, what happened to Lois last night?"

"Well you know how I told you about Lana?"

"Yah."

"Well last night I was waiting for Lois and she came up. She professed her undying love for me and kissed me. I broke the kiss and told her that I didn't love her and he went home."

"Where does Lois fit in?"

"She walked in as Lana kissed me."

"Oh."

"How about some lunch?"

"Sounds good."

Pete saw Lana as he walked into the Talon. He went over to her. They had kissed at the end of their date. Neither of them knew what was going to happen. Pete knew that Lana still had feelings for Clark.

"Hey Lana." She turned and saw him.

"Oh, hey Pete."

There was an awkward silence between them. "So uh, Lana. About last night….."

"I don't know Pete. I still have feelings for Clark. But I'm starting to have feelings for you."

"Well would you like to see another movie tonight?"

"Sure. I'd like that." She noticed someone had entered.

"Hey Pete. Hey, Lana."

"Oh, hey Clark."

Lois was at her cousin's house. She had told Lana, who would be there all day, to tell Clark that she was here. She was having a trivial conversation with Chloe. Suddenly out of the blue she asked, "Chloe how did you deal with it when Clark broke your heart?"

Chloe was a little drawn back. A moment ago they had been talking about cruelty to animals. "Well it depends. When we were dating at the end of our freshman year I broke it off. But otherwise he had no real idea that I was still in love with him."

"Yah but how did you deal with the pain?"

"Lois, it's different for you. You don't let people into your heart easily. The only people that I that have done that are myself, Clark, Bruce, and the Kents. Bruce was the first friend you ever made, The Kents are the Parents you never had, and Clark is the one that you love. You need to talk to him. Tell him how you feel."

"What about you?"

"Oh, I don't count I'm family."

"Like my father?"

"Point taken."

"You're the only one I can talk to about girly stuff."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Good to know that you only love me so that you can get fashion advice." They both began to laugh.

Martha and Jonathon had noticed that the chores were done before Lois had left. When Clark came in followed by Bruce they were surprised. "Clark, son, where have you been? Lois is looking for you."

Clark looked at his father. "Oh crap!" Clark turned to Bruce. "What if he goes after her? Or someone else?"

"Can you move fast enough not to attract attention?" Martha and Jonathon looked at each other worried.

"Clark, does he mean what I think he means?" Jonathon asked slowly.

"Not now dad. Bruce stay here. Only open the door if I say the password."

"What's the password?"

"Conspiracy." Clark used his superspeed to run out of the house.

Bruce looked to see Clark's parent's confused. "Oh he told me his secret after the evil him tried to kill me." When they looked even more wide-eyed, he muttered under his breath. "Great, leave me with the hard part. I'll get you man of steel."

Clark stopped in an alleyway. Then he ran at normal speed into the Talon. He immediately spotted Pete and Lana. "Guys. Thank god!"

Pete turned. He walked up to Clark and punched him. As an afterthought he realized that it would hurt him more than Clark. "Pete? What the Hell!"

Lana walked up to him. "How can you show your face here after what you said?"

"What are you- oh shit! Where did I go when I left?"

"What! All you can think of is where you were headed. You asshole!"

Clark looked at Lana. "Now is not the time. All things in a nutshell the explosion a couple of days ago created an evil clone of me. I need to know where he was headed. If actually makes good on his threat he could kill Chloe! Or one of you two."

Lana was stunned but Pete realized what the danger was. "We'll go to your house."

"Bro, get going. You need to round up Chloe and Lois."

"Alright. Remember don't believe me unless I say conspiracy." Clark ran out of the Talon and when no one was looking he used his superspeed to get to Chloe's house.

Martha was in shock after what she had just heard. Jonathon was not so trusting. "How do we know that you'll keep Clark's secret?"

Bruce sighed. He hated to do this but it was the only way that they would trust him. "I'll keep his secret because he'll keep mine. Mr. Kent you're son and I are a lot more alike than you think. I'm also a superhero."

"How do we know that you aren't lying?"

"Jonathon!" Martha was shocked. She knew that he was protective of their son but really!

"No, Mrs. Kent I can understand your husband's distrust. Out of the four Billionaires that your son knows two of them know his secret and the other two are desperate to find it out. Or now only one is trying to find out the secret. Lex is a monster. He murdered his father. Didn't hire someone to do it he pulled the trigger himself. Quite literally."

"How do you know it was Lex that pulled the trigger?"

"When he was telling me about Lionel's death he and I listened to the tape from the recorder that Lionel had on him."

"Alright but we still don't know if you're lying."

"Oh, sorry got sidetracked. I'm Batman. I have the costume in my motel if you would like to see it."

"No, we trust you, because Clark trusts you. Don't we, Jonathon."

"Fine. You seem to be a good young man. And although I don't approve of your methods, the crime rat in Gotham has dropped considerably."

Bruce smiled at his new friend's parents. Suddenly they heard A knock on the door. Bruce walked over and asked. "Who is it?"

" Its Lana and Pete. Clark sent us."

Bruce opened the door. Lana and Pete walked in. Martha went to Pete. She looked at his and gasped. "Pete what happened."

"Well evil Clark came in and he told Lana that because of her Lois was miserable. Then he said that it would have been better if she had died along with her parents in the meteor shower. He called her some pretty harsh names then left for Chloe's house."

Lois got into her car and drove to the Kent farm. It was almost 5. She needed to talk to Bruce. He was one of her few true friends. She couldn't string him along. She also needed to talk to Clark. She sighed. It wasn't a conversation she was looking forward to.

She got to the house and walked inside. There she found everyone except Chloe and Clark. She shot Lana a venomous look and walked up to her room. No, it was Clark's room. She sighed.

Lana was confused. "What did I do? She's the one who gets Clark." Martha and Bruce looked at each other.

"I'll take Lois." Bruce told her.

"I'll explain what happened to Lana." Martha replied.

Clark supersped to Chloe's house. He x-rayed the place to find Chloe talking to Klarc. He broke down the door. "Get away from her!"

Chloe looked up in surprise. She had been talking to Clark about Lois when her door was burst open. She saw Clark enter and backed away from both of them. "Alright. Until I figure out who is who neither of you come toward me."

"Chloe it's obvious. By breaking in he's trying to confuse you so he can kill you."

"What! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Both of you wait right where you are." She went into her room and got what she needed. "What does this mean to you?" She held up a duck. Clark and her had discussed a plan over the phone earlier in case this happened.

"It won't work Chloe. I forgot to tell you that we can read each other's minds."

"Chlo, don't listen to him!"

She turned to the one who had called her Chlo and said. "Get out imposter."

Clark turned and walked out of the room. Then he came back at superspeed and grabbed Chloe. He ran out before Klarc could realize what was happening. "geez, Clark I thought you were never going to come back. I mean I was there for like five whole seconds. For a guy with superspeed you're really slow." Clark just laughed and they were back at the Kent farm in seconds.

Lex was still trying to find the person with the recording. He was in no mood for games. So he wasn't happy when Klarc walked into his office. "Clark I don't have time for this. Please leave." His voice was cold and demanding.

"Make time Lex. We have some things to talk about."


	6. Chapter 5: Scheming

Chapter 5: Scheming 

"Lana, you know how evil Clark said that you were the reason Lois was miserable? Well it wasn't entirely fiction."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember how you told Clark that you loved him a last night?"

"Yah, so?"

"Lois saw you kiss Clark. She doesn't know how Clark feels about her. She just realized that she's in love with him. That's an amazing feat in itself. Lois barely lets anyone get close to her."

"Oh. I didn't know that kissing Clark would have such devastating consequences. Had I known I would have never kissed him."

"It's not your fault Lana. It was just bad timing. No one knew that Lois would arrive in the barn just as you kissed him."

"I still feel bad."

"Don't." The sound came from outside the door they had been standing next to.

"Clark is that you?" Martha asked anxiously. "What's the password?"

"Conspiracy." Martha opened the door to find Chloe and Clark.

"How did you guys get here?"

"Clark ran us." Chloe told the woman not realizing Lana was right there.

"What do you mean Clark ran you?" Lana asked.

Chloe turned towards Lana. "Oops."

"Lois?" Bruce entered the room cautiously. "We need to talk." He saw Lois on the bed. He sat down on the edge.

"Bruce I can't go to dinner with you."

"Well I was going to suggest that but we need to talk about Clark."

"Why?"

"Well let's start at the beginning. What did he do to you in the nightmare?"

"He told me that he loved me, I told him that I loved him then Lana came over and told Clark that she loved him. He left me for Lana."

"And you're afraid the in real life he'll do the same?"

"No he already did. He kissed Lana."

"Lois think back to the conversation what exactly was said.?"

Lois tried to remember. Lana had said, "I love you." The Clark had walked to the railing and said "Lana I-" and she had kissed him. It wasn't what it had looked like. Everyone was right.

"Oh god, now I feel guilty for jumping to conclusions."

"Lois, you need to talk to him." Bruce paused. "I think he's downstairs now. Why don't I go get him? Somehow I don't think you want to have this conversation in front of everyone." Lois blushed as Bruce left the room.

Lex was glaring at Klarc. "Clark I told you that I'm busy."

Klarc got up to leave. On his way he said, "Alright I guess you don't want to find your father's listening device and tape?"

"Wait! Did you just say that you know who has then evidence?"

Klarc walked back to sit down. "Well Lex, let's talk business. Shall we?"

"Lana, we need to talk later, but first I have to tell Lois how I feel."

"Go. I can't wait. Besides, I think I'm piecing together some things."

"All right. I'll talk to you this evening."

Bruce came down the stairs. "She's ready for you." He gestured to the door. "I've gotta go get my suit."

"Looking for this?" Bruce turned to see Bart with his suit.

"How did you get that? I have tons of security on that suit. And how are you?"

"I'm Bart but you can call me Flash. And I have superspeed. I'm faster than Clark."

Clark saw Bruce's face and laughed as he made his way upstairs.

"Who has the recording?"

"I do."

"What!" Lex exclaimed. He paused for a moment before pulling out a gun. "Give it to me."

"Why so you can kill me too?"

Lex was shocked. "Give me the tape Clark. Even if you are my friend, I need that tape."

"To find one of the stones?"

Lex gave him one final warning. "Clark, I'm serious. Give me that recording."

Klarc smirked. "I don't think you can kill me. I dare you to pull the trigger."

A gunshot was heard throughout the whole mansion.

Lois was nervous. _'What if he doesn't love me?'_ She shook her head. It didn't matter. She owed it to Clark and herself to be honest.

Clark was worried. _'What if she doesn't accept me?'_ _'Then she isn't the woman that I love.'_ He told himself. Clark deserved better than to be treated like a freak.

Clark opened the door, entered the room, and shut the door behind him. He and Lois took deep breaths. _'This isn't going to be a walk in the park.' _They thought simultaneously.

Lex was stunned. Klarc took the bullet and showed it to him. It was all crumpled. "The meteor shower gave me special powers."

"I'll say. I guess I won't be getting the tape huh?"

Klarc shrugged. "I don't have the tape. The other me has it."

"What do you mean the other you?"

"The explosion Sunday created two Clarks. Or I should say created me. I'm evil."

Lex liked the idea of an evil Clark. Especially an evil Clark with all of these powers. Lex suspected that Clark was also really strong and really fast. "What did you have in mind?"

"I thought we might take over the world."

Lex nodded "With my resources and your powers we'll rule easily." Lex got them some wine. "Partners?"

"One condition."

"Yes?"

"When I tell you to leave someone alone, you do."

"Deal."

They clanked their glasses. "To power, control, and a partnership." They both downed their glasses.

Lois began. "Listen I don't let people in, on fear of getting hurt. I pushed my father away, I pushed my sister away, but something about this town got to me. I let Chloe in, as you already know, I let your parents in, I let-"

Clark couldn't take it anymore. He shut her up, by kissing her. Suddenly her hands were around his neck and his hands were around her waist. A mutual feeling passed through their bodies. They both knew that they would spend their lives together and that the other knew it too.

When they broke the kiss, Lois continued. "I let you in and fell in love with you." She said quietly.

Clark chuckled. "Don't you ever stop talking Ms. Lane?" She playfully smacked him and leaned forward to kiss him again. "For the record I love you too." Clark told her when the came up for air.

Clark separated from Lois' embrace. "Lois I need to tell you something."

"Clark, what is it?" He looked into her eyes. He knew that she was more powerful than any Kryptonite could ever be.

"I'm afraid that if I tell you that you'll leave and never come back."

"Clark, I would never do that to you."

"Lois, I-" Before he could say anything more, he heard the bracelet calling to him. "Lois wait there for a minute." He ran down the stairs and then supersped out the door. Martha looked after him wondering what he was doing. Lana looked at where he had been moments ago triumphantly. Jonathon smiled knowing where he was going.

Clark grabbed the bracelet, the stone, the key and the tape. He knew that they weren't safe out here. Then he supersped back into the house. Martha saw that he was holding the bracelet and asked, "Don't you think that you're moving a little fast?"

"No the bracelet was calling to me. Mom, she's the one." Martha nodded and her son ran up the stairs.

Lana was confused but just as she was about to ask Martha what the deal with the bracelet was, the stone of power in her pocket glowed. She suddenly knew all about Clark and his secret. The stone that Clark had left on the counter also glowed and as Martha picked it up she knew her son and Lois were going to be happy together.

The third stone glowed in the Cave and Jor-El's computer program suddenly knew that the Kryptonian race wouldn't die out. As the stones stopped glowing Clark was upstairs putting the bracelet on Lois.

Klarc and Lex had been discussing how to take over the world when Klarc knew what had taken place. _'How dare he. Lois is mine. And she accepted him.'_

Lex was startled. One moment he and Klarc had been engrossed in a conversation. The next Klarc was standing screaming "No!"

"Clark? What's wrong?"

"He took her. That bastard took her. And she accepted him. Oh they'll both pay!"

"Who? Ho took who?"

Klarc uttered one word before he supersped to the Kent farm. "Clark."

The moment the bracelet slipped on her wrist Lois knew all that Clark knew about himself. She knew that he was an alien, that Segeeth would betray him, what the bracelet meant. Tears ran down her cheeks. He wanted to be with her forever.

Clark thought she was crying because she hated him. He turned, tears scalding his own cheeks. He thought that she couldn't deal with the fact that he wasn't human.

Lois knew that he was crying. That he believed that she didn't love him. She knew at that moment that they were psychically connected. They could read each other's minds when the other was under tons of stress or their emotions were raging.

She walked over to him and slowly kissed him. They fell to the bed kissing each other. Neither of them ever wanted to let go. They were in each other's minds making the whole ordeal much more intimate. They finally fell asleep in each other's arms.

The whole house was asleep. The intruder walked into the house silently. He saw Chloe and Bart sleeping on the couch, Lana and Pete sleeping on the floor, Bruce sleeping in the hallway.

He went upstairs and found Martha and Jonathon asleep in their room. He quietly looked in on the other sleeping couple. Had it not been for the stones downstairs and the item on the stairs, the whole house full of people would be dead.

As he left the house the octagonal disk that had been left on the top stair stopped glowing.


End file.
